Helping look after my elderly mother has brought me to the understanding that, as we get older, certain muscles weaken. One not often mentioned, is the muscle that keeps one from passing wind until in an acceptable place (like the toilet area). This causes deep embarrassment to elderly people, as it can make them the subject of jokes. I suspect this is where the derogatory expression ''An Old Fart'' came from.

But I was startled to see that this has risen to a Government Level - Malawi already has a law in place against farting, but is intending to make it a criminal offense.

Government cracks down on public farting

Malawian lawmakers will next week debate a law change to criminalise public farting, which a cabinet minister said had been encouraged by democracy."The government has a right to ensure public decency. We are entitled to introduce order in the country," justice and constitutional affairs minister George Chaponda told independent radio station Capital Radio."Would you like to see people farting in public anywhere?"

Since the country embraced multi-party politics 16 years ago people had felt free to fart anywhere, Mr Chaponda said. "It was not there during the time of dictatorship because people were afraid of the consequences. Now because of multipartism or freedom, people would like to fart anywhere," he said.

Mr Chaponda, a key figure in president Bingu wa Mutharika's government, said that if Malawians cannot control their farting "they should go to the toilet instead of farting in public.""Nature can be controlled ... it becomes a nuisance if people fart anywhere."

A lawyer himself, Mr Chaponda said that under the amended law farting will be considered a minor offence.Mr Chaponda's Democratic Progressive Party will bank on its majority to pass the amendment to a law which was first introduced in 1929.

The amendment, which will make farting in public an offence, is not yet public and it will be presented to parliament for debate as part of a review by the state-sponsored Law Commission of the country's penal code.

Nobody in Malawi has been arrested nor convicted for farting under the old law, as police did not enforce it.

The old law states: "Any person who voluntarily vitiates the atmosphere in any place so as to make it noxious to the health of persons in general dwelling or carrying on business in the neighbourhood or passing along a public way, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour."

---The trouble is that you think you have time------Worry is the Interest, paid in advance, on a debt you may never owe------It's not what happens to you in life that is important ~ it's what you do with it ---

cooran wrote:Malawian lawmakers will next week debate a law change to criminalise public farting, which a cabinet minister said had been encouraged by democracy.

Since we are often told,via mass-media, that the US takes credit for democracy, its only reasonable that responsibility for the evil of public farting be squarely laid at the feet of the United States. A nation of people who exported farting to the world disguised as democracy!

Learn this from the waters:in mountain clefts and chasms,loud gush the streamlets,but great rivers flow silently.

The old law states: "Any person who voluntarily vitiates the atmosphere in any place so as to make it noxious to the health of persons in general dwelling or carrying on business in the neighbourhood or passing along a public way, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour."

The southern African state is a conservative society with punishable previous bans on long hair for men and trouser-wearing for women.

with mettaChris

wow , i can't believe this, flatulence is a normal function of the body, yes body does normally release stinky gases from time to time, if you don't experience flatulence, then medically something is wrong with your body. it makes no sense to make this illegal. whats next? breathing tax? I don't understand the ignorance of these people.

And the south african state amazes me. You can't have long hair as a man? what if you don't have money to go to a barber shop, what then? wear trousers as a woman? then what do you wear? what if you need to compete in the olympics in South Africa? would women run around and compete in traditional garb? who are these people that make these appalling laws?

The old law states: "Any person who voluntarily vitiates the atmosphere in any place so as to make it noxious to the health of persons in general dwelling or carrying on business in the neighbourhood or passing along a public way, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour."

The southern African state is a conservative society with punishable previous bans on long hair for men and trouser-wearing for women.

with mettaChris

wow , i can't believe this, flatulence is a normal function of the body, yes body does normally release stinky gases from time to time, if you don't experience flatulence, then medically something is wrong with your body. it makes no sense to make this illegal. whats next? breathing tax? I don't understand the ignorance of these people.

And the south african state amazes me. You can't have long hair as a man? what if you don't have money to go to a barber shop, what then? wear trousers as a woman? then what do you wear? what if you need to compete in the olympics in South Africa? would women run around and compete in traditional garb? who are these people that make these appalling laws?

´

Why are you surprised that other nations have different customs?

Do all countries have to live the American way of life?

And who's to say what's worse?

Muslim nations find appalling what we do:

Women who compete with each other in who's wearing less cloths and who's got the bigger silicon boobs.

Ben wrote:What if one produces a pestilential stench of a fart without making a noise? And in a crowded lift, how does one determine whose orifice it came from?

From a personal point of view that was often me and people knew cos I was the first one to get out while laughing hysterically.On a more serious(ish) note I am disappointed to read about this law.I always thought that farting was the one thing governments would not be able to tax.Looks like I was wrong....again.With metta,Phra Greg.

And crawling on the planets face,some insects called the human race.Lost in timeLost in spaceAnd meaning

Haven't you ever been somewhere where it is OBVIOUS that someone has 'passed wind' - but everyone looks askance at everyone else?

How are you going to prove in a court of law that a particular person was the one who vitiated, or how can a police officer possibly justify arresting someone?

What if it was the Police Officer himself .... 'he who smelt it, dealt it'.

Just another way to victimise targets?

with mettaChris

---The trouble is that you think you have time------Worry is the Interest, paid in advance, on a debt you may never owe------It's not what happens to you in life that is important ~ it's what you do with it ---

---The trouble is that you think you have time------Worry is the Interest, paid in advance, on a debt you may never owe------It's not what happens to you in life that is important ~ it's what you do with it ---

In the middle ages, it was appreciated when guests burped and farted, as a sign of how good the food was and how comfortable they felt, and hosts showed concern when guests didn't!

This is all so relative, and I feel we have little reason to feel above others.

lol no offense, but why shouldn't we assume moral high ground when we clearly know we have it. No one is torturing people here if they choose to not watch naked women to masturbate, or when they choose to not wear burkas, or when they choose to be eccentric. It is not true of muslim nations and nations that impose these ridiculous laws on their public.

I am with samuel harris on this one: listen to his argument and make your own judgements as to what is western ethnocentrism and what is not and who has the higher moral high ground. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj9oB4zpHww

Haven't you ever been somewhere where it is OBVIOUS that someone has 'passed wind' - but everyone looks askance at everyone else?

How are you going to prove in a court of law that a particular person was the one who vitiated, or how can a police officer possibly justify arresting someone?

What if it was the Police Officer himself .... 'he who smelt it, dealt it'.

Just another way to victimise targets?

with mettaChris

lol yeah how do you know who passed gas? These people need to re-evaluate their qualifications for making laws. They need to set up literacy standards for leaders worldwide, that way atleast we will have relatively sane people running countries.

lol yeah how do you know who passed gas? These people need to re-evaluate their qualifications for making laws. They need to set up literacy standards for leaders worldwide, that way atleast we will have relatively sane people running countries.

What an interesting thought.Relatively sane politicians.Could be worth a try.he he.

And crawling on the planets face,some insects called the human race.Lost in timeLost in spaceAnd meaning

I think that if you are in an elevator where you know you only have to hold it for a few seconds, then it is the right thing to hold it. But if you are on a bus or a train and the journey is going to be 20 or 30 minutes, then let her rip I say.

Four types of letting go:

1) Giving; expecting nothing back in return2) Throwing things away3) Contentment; wanting to be here, not wanting to be anywhere else4) "Teflon Mind"; having a mind which doesn't accumulate things

lol yeah how do you know who passed gas? These people need to re-evaluate their qualifications for making laws. They need to set up literacy standards for leaders worldwide, that way atleast we will have relatively sane people running countries.

What an interesting thought.Relatively sane politicians.Could be worth a try.he he.

Of course that is a NO GO in most circles, but I knew somebody who was a master at it and never failed to make people

Perhaps in Malawi farting is a common thing amongst uneducated, simple folks on the streets, and this suggestion aims at bringing a bit more mindfulness to them.

I mean, this is Africa!

What do you expect?

Here is a bit of Info about Malawi, to show it can hardly satisfy Western expectations, and why should it? !

Malawi is among the world's least developed and most densely populated countries. The economy is heavily based in agriculture, with a largely rural population. The Malawian government depends heavily on outside aid to meet development needs, although this need (and the aid offered) has decreased since 2000. The Malawian government faces challenges in growing the economy, improving education, health care and the environmental protection and becoming financially independent. Malawi has several programs developed since 2005 that focus on these issues, and the country's outlook appears to be improving, with improvements in economic growth, education and healthcare seen in 2007 and 2008.

Malawi has a low life expectancy and high infant mortality. There is a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, which is a drain on the labor force and government expenditures, and is expected to have a significant impact on gross domestic product (GDP) by 2010. There is a diverse population of native peoples, Asians and Europeans, with several languages spoken and an array of religious beliefs. Although there was tribal conflict in the past, by 2008 it had diminished considerably and the concept of a Malawian nationality had begun to form. Malawi has a culture combining native and colonial aspects, including sports, art, dance and music.

lol no offense, but why shouldn't we assume moral high ground when we clearly know we have it. No one is torturing people here if they choose to not watch naked women to masturbate, or when they choose to not wear burkas, or when they choose to be eccentric. It is not true of muslim nations and nations that impose these ridiculous laws on their public.

Oh come on, forgive me a little bit of passion here, but this is ß%&§$.

America has capital punishment.

America had Guantanamo and waterboarding and violent police.

Iraq...

Need I continue?

And there is more...

It is of course easier to feel outraged about other traditions, and harder, to truly get to know them.

My own contact with Muslims has helped me understand their tradition a bit better. I even changed the way I dress.